


Nick & Takeo - #26 - Jump

by zosimos (trismegistus)



Series: Tobira no Mukou e [15]
Category: Fullmetal Alchemist (Anime 2003)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Future, Gen, Original Character - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-06-19
Updated: 2010-06-19
Packaged: 2017-10-10 04:51:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/95680
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trismegistus/pseuds/zosimos
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompt #26 of 50</p><p>Pursuit.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Nick & Takeo - #26 - Jump

"Shit!" Takeo shouted from inside the shack. That woke Nick right up out of his reverie, in time to see a small dark-haired form worm its way out of a window and land awkwardly on the sidewalk. The person scrambled to their feet and bolted down the alley that ran alongside the shack and into the city proper. "Nick!"

"I see him!" Nick yelled back, giving chase. The figure had an arm full of papers and books, loose sheets getting away from him as he ran. He would slow to kick over piles of trash in the alley, pulling things down behind him to create more obstacles for Nick to stumble over or through.

The thing was, Nick didn't make junior varsity for nothing. He cleared the piles of garbage in a stride, not breaking pace. He heard Takeo somewhere behind him, caught up in the mess left behind. Nick cleared the edge of the alley and spun to the right, scanning the street for their mysterious pilfering figure. He spotted him near the end of the street, so Nick put his head down and broke into a full-out sprint.

Takeo stumbled out of the alley a few moments behind Nick, already panting. "How does he move so fast?" Takeo moaned to himself, one hand on the side of the building to brace himself and watching Nick pursue his quarry. Then he sucked in a deep breath and followed.

The city was not very large, it had the beginning of a main street, lots of multilevel buildings cloistered very close together and bisected by the river. Nick's quarry was heading for one of the many bridges that connected the two halves of the town. His lungs were beginning to burn, all the soccer practice in the world didn't prepare him for the strain on his body with automail hanging off of it. The thief didn't seem to be slowing down, either, so Nick shook it off and followed.

Down the embankment to the edge of the river and the thief didn't even hesitate, flinging themselves into the air and somehow managing to land on the small boat that was flowing lazily with the stream. Nick slid to a stop at the edge of the embankment, chest heaving with exertion as he watched his prey shove the fisherman overboard and take the oars. There was too slim a chance that he'd make that jump, if he missed he'd sink like a stone. He never was a good swimmer to begin with and some of the first stories Winry had told him about automail was about how easy it was to drown. It wasn't worth it.

Takeo came running behind him, half-sliding down the embankment and landing on his ass beside Nick, wheezing so badly Nick was worried for him for a moment. He got his breathing under control quickly though, and took his glasses off, swiping his hand over his face to try to dry the sweat. They watched, wordlessly, as the thief pulled their hood up, masking their dark hair and shooting off down the river, finding the natural current with ease.

"Who the hell was that?" Nick asked once he finally regained his voice.

Takeo leaned back on his hands, staring up at the sky, still panting. "Dunno," he wheezed out finally. "Looked Xingian, little bastard tried to, tried to nail me with a dart gun."

"What'd he get?"

"Pardo's notebook, the main one. Left a lot of bits and pieces behind but that was the important bit." Takeo scowled, and sat forward. Sweat was beaded up in his hair and he ran his hand through it irritably. "Came all this way to have some fucking pseudo-ninja make off with it!"

"It was a long shot to begin with," Nick said.

"A long shot that would have paid off if we had been here just a few hours sooner," Takeo groaned. Nick sat down on the grass, unsure of how his legs were still holding him. He felt more drained than normal, and just needed a few minutes to recharge.

"Now what?" he asked. The boat was long gone out of the river and the fisherman had floundered to the opposite shore, yelling indistinct swears to anyone who would listen.

"Back to Pardo's, I guess," Takeo said. "Look for clues. Hope that asshole grabbed a fake journal, but I really doubt it."

"After you," Nick said, flopping back onto the grass. "I'm just, gonna, rest here a few minutes."

"Yeah," Takeo said, staring out at the river. "Me too."


End file.
